Staples Center
|+ colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 125%; color:#000000; background-color:clear"|' ' |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Location': | 1111 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, California United States https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0428832,-118.2675759,318m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Owner': | L.A. Arena Company Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Operator': | L.A. Arena Company Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Capacity': | Basketball: 19,060-18,997 Ice hockey: 18,230 Arena football: 16,096 Concerts: 19,000 Boxing: 21,000 Concert theatre: 8,000 |- Construction information |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Broke ground': | March 31, 1998 |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Opened': | October 17, 1999 |- |- | style="vertical-align: top;"|'Construction cost': | $375 million |- Tenants |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) (1999–present) Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) (1999–present) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) (1999–present) Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA) (2001–present) Los Angeles Avengers (AFL) (2000–2008) Los Angeles D-Fenders (NBA D-League) (2006–2010) |- Floor design |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|'Los Angeles Lakers' Los Angeles Clippers |} Staples Center, officially stylized as STAPLES Center, is a multi-purpose arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999. It is owned and operated by the Arturo L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group. The arena is home venue to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League were also tenants; the Avengers were folded in 2009, and the D-Fenders moved to the Lakers' practice facility at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California for the 2011–12 season. Staples Center is also host to over 250 events and nearly 4 million guests each year. It is the only arena in the NBA shared by two teams, as well as one of only two North American professional sports venues to host two teams from the same league; MetLife Stadium, the home of the National Football League's New York Giants and New York Jets, is the other. Staples Center is the venue of the Grammy Awards ceremony and will host the basketball competition during the 2028 Summer Olympics. Description Structure and architecture Staples Center measures 950,000 square feet (88,258 m2) of total space, with a 94-foot (28.7 m) by 200-foot (61.0 m) arena floor. It stands 150 feet (45.7 m) tall. The arena seats up to 19,067 for basketball, 18,118 for ice hockey and arena football, and around 20,000 for concerts or other sporting events. Two-thirds of the arena's seating, including 2,500 club seats, are in the lower bowl. There are also 160 luxury suites, including 15 event suites, on three levels between the lower and upper bowls. The arena's attendance record is held by the fight between World WBA Welterweight Champion, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley with a crowd of 20,820 set on January 25, 2009. Star Plaza Outside the arena at the Star Plaza are statues of Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson, although both sports legends played at The Forum, where the Kings, Lakers and Sparks previously played. A third statue of boxer Oscar De La Hoya was unveiled outside Staples Center on December 1, 2008. On April 20, 2010, a fourth statue of the late long time Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn, behind a Laker desk with a chair for fans to sit down for a picture, was unveiled. A fifth statue of the Laker legend Jerry West dribbling was unveiled on February 17, 2011. A sixth statue of Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was unveiled on November 16, 2012. A seventh statue of former Kings' Hall of Fame left wing Luc Robitaille was unveiled on March 7, 2015. An eighth statue of Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal was unveiled on March 24, 2017. On January 13, 2018 a ninth statue, of legendary Kings announcer Bob Miller, was unveiled. A tenth statue of Laker legend Elgin Baylor was unveiled on April 6, 2018. An eleventh statue, honoring Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie, is slated to be unveiled in the future. Secret Tunnel On January 15, 2018, in the aftermath of an NBA basketball game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers, point guard Chris Paul utilized a secret tunnel (connecting the away team's locker room to the backdoor of the Clippers locker room) to confront former Clipper teammates Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin. He was joined by teammates such as Trevor Ariza, James Harden, and Gerald Green to confront the opponents, which only resulted in verbal altercations. The tunnel had previously been used by Laker Rick Fox in to confront Sacramento Kings player Doug Christie. History Construction broke ground in 1998 and the Staples Center was opened a year later. It was financed privately at a cost of $375 million and is named for the office-supply company Staples, Inc., which was one of the center's corporate sponsors that paid for naming rights. The venue opened as the home of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers, as well as the NHL's Los Angeles Kings in 1999. The WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks joined in 2001, while the NBA D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders joined in 2006. It became home to the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers in 2000 until the team's discontinuation in 2008. Staples Center was named Best New Major Concert Venue for 1999 and Arena of the Year for 2000 and 2001 by Pollstar Magazine and has been nominated each year since 2000. The arena opened on October 17, 1999, with a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert as its inaugural event. Since its opening day, it has hosted seven NBA Finals series with the Lakers, three WNBA Finals, the 2000 Democratic National Convention, the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 52nd NHL All-Star game, two NBA All-Star Games (in 2004 and 2011), the Pacific-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, since 2002–2012, the WTA Tour Championships, from 2002–2005, UFC 60 in 2006, UFC 104 in 2009, the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards in 2000, the annual Grammy Awards, since 2000, with the exception of 2003, the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, the Summer X Games indoor competitions, since 2003, as well as numerous concerts and HBO Championship Boxing matches. The Los Angeles Kings, of the NHL hosted the 2010 NHL Entry Draft at the arena in June 2010. The Stanley Cup Finals were held at the arena for the first time in 2012. The Kings hosted the New Jersey Devils in games 3, 4, and ultimately defeated the Devils in game 6 by a final score of 6-1. The Kings became the first team to win the Stanley Cup on home ice since 2007. On January 22, 2006, Lakers player Kobe Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in the Staples Center against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest number of points scored in a single game in NBA history, |publisher=NBA|date=January 22, 2006}} second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point performance. Of the team's five NBA championships since moving to the venue, the Lakers have celebrated their 2000 and 2010 victories at Staples Center with series-winning victories at home. Prior to the 2006-07 NBA season, the lighting inside Staples Center was modified for Lakers games. The lights were focused only on the court itself (hence the promotional Lights Out campaign), reminiscent of the Lakers' early years at The Forum. Initial fan reaction was positive, and has been a fixture on home games since. The Daktronics see-through shot-clock was first installed prior to the 2008-09 NBA season. The Clippers adopted the new see through shot clock prior to the 2010-11 NBA season. For Sparks games, the court used is named after Sparks legend Lisa Leslie, and was officially named prior to the 2009 home opener against the Shock on June 6, 2009. In 2007 Staples Center removed 178 urinals and installed 178 waterless urinals created by Falcon Waterfree Technologies. On October 21, 2009, Staples Center celebrated its 10th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, the venue's official web site nominated 25 of the arena's greatest moments from its first ten years with fans voting on the top ten. During the late summer of 2010, modifications were made to the arena, including refurbished locker rooms for the Clippers, Kings, and Lakers and the installation of a new high-definition center-hung video scoreboard, replacing the original one that had been in place since the building opened in 1999. The Panasonic Live 4HD scoreboard was officially unveiled on September 22, as AEG and Staples Center executives, as well as player representatives from the Clippers (Craig Smith), Kings (Matt Greene), and Lakers (Sasha Vujacic) were on hand for the presentation. During the Spring of 2012, NHL's Kings, along with NBA's Lakers and Clippers reached the post-season, making it the first time the arena would host three playoff teams. Also in 2012, the arena hosted the 54th Annual Grammy Awards and the 29th Annual Video Music Awards, marking the first time both awards ceremonies were held in the same venue in the same calendar year; many 54th Grammy winners, including Adele, would go on to win VMAs that same year. The Lakers unveiled a new hardwood court before their preseason game on October 13, 2012. Taking a cue from soccer clubs, the primary center court logo was adorned with 16 stars, representing the 16 championships the Lakers franchise has won. In February 2013, PETA named Staples Center the most "vegetarian-friendly" arena in the NBA. Staples Center has hosted the following championship events: * NBA Finals: **'2000:' Games 1–2 and 6 took place at home. On June 7, 2000, the Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers 104–87 in Game 1, and on June 9, 2000, they defeated the Pacers 111–104 to take a 2–0 series lead. On June 19, 2000, leading the series 3–2, the Lakers defeated the Pacers 116–111 in Game 6 to win their 12th championship title. This was also notable for being their first championship since 1988. **'2001:' Games 1–2 took place at home. On June 6, 2001, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Lakers 107–101 in overtime in Game 1, but on June 8, 2001, the Lakers defeated the 76ers 98–89 to tie the series. The Lakers would go on to defeat the 76ers in five games to win their 13th NBA championship. **'2002: '''Both Game 1 and Game 2 took place at home. On June 5, 2002, the Lakers defeated the New Jersey Nets 99–94 in Game 1 and on June 7, 2002, they defeated the Nets 106–83 in Game 2 to take a 2–0 series lead. The Lakers would go on to sweep the Nets to win their 14th NBA championship and third consecutive NBA championship. **'2004: Games 1–2 took place at home. On June 6, 2004, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Lakers 87–75 in Game 1, but on June 8, 2004, the Lakers defeated the Pistons 99–91 in overtime in Game 2 to tie the series. The Lakers would go on to lose to the Pistons in five games despite being the heavy favorites. **2008: Games 3–5 took place at home. On June 10, 2008, the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 87–81 in Game 3, but on June 12, 2008 the Celtics defeated the Lakers 97–91 in Game 4 to take a 3–1 series lead and were on the verge of winning the NBA championship in Staples Center, but on June 15, 2008, the Lakers defeated the Celtics 103–98 in Game 5 to force a Game 6 back in Boston. However, the Celtics defeated the Lakers 131–92 in Game 6 in a 39-point blowout, and they won their 17th NBA championship, marking the Lakers' 9th defeat to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. **2009: Games 1–2 took place at home. On June 4, 2009, the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 100–75 in Game 1, and on June 7, 2009, they beat the Magic 101–96 in Game 2 to take a 2–0 series lead. The Lakers would go on to defeat the Magic in five games to win their 15th NBA championship. **2010:' Games 1–2 and 6–7 took place at home. On June 3, 2010, the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 102–89 in Game 1, but on June 6, 2010, the Celtics defeated the Lakers 103–94 to tie the series. On June 15, 2010, with the Celtics leading the series 3–2, the Lakers defeated the Celtics 89–67 in Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7. On June 17, 2010, the Lakers defeated Celtics 83–79 in Game 7 to win their 16th NBA championship. * Stanley Cup Finals: ** '''2012': On June 11, 2012, the Kings captured their first Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New Jersey Devils 6–1 at home in Game 6. ** 2014: On June 13, 2014, the Kings captured their second Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers 3–2 at home in double overtime of Game 5 on a goal scored by Alec Martinez. It was their second championship in the last 3 years. The January 24, 2000 Episode of WCW Monday Nitro was held in the Staples Center. In 2013 and 2016, Staples Center hosted the grand finals of the Worlds Championship of the video game League of Legends. On September 24, 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. On February 22-23, 2019, the Professional Bull Riders brought their annual "Iron Cowboy" bull riding elite series Unleash the Beast event to Staples Center in what will be the PBR's first-ever visit to the venue. 2028 Summer Olympics Staples Center will host the basketball competition at the 2028 Summer Olympics. It will host men's preliminaries as well as the men's and women's basketball finals. Gallery Los Angeles Lakers Stadium Logo.gif|Lakers court design Los_Angeles_Clippers_home_court_design_2015-16.jpg|Clippers court design References Category:NBA Arenas Category:Arenas Category:Basketball venues in California Category:Los Angeles Clippers Category:Los Angeles Lakers